Every morning, one of the first things that I do is to harvest food for the day and usually just enough for the day so it stays fresh…no need to be shoving anything in the fridge. Actually we only have a tiny fridge for pharmaceuticals…no veggies, fruit and condiments allowed! Morning harvest:
Farm Harvest.
The leafy greens are chaya and to the front are some carambola (starfruit). The round yellow fruit, at the back are sour peach. The banana leaf has some wild mushroom (Schiziphylum commune). So, Gnome asked me:
Hello Munchkin here and I am still munching through the edible ornamentals. This one is Pereskia aculeata also known as Barbados Gooseberry. In a specific area of Brazil, Minas Gerais, it is known as ora-pro-nobis; here, the plant is cultivated for its edible leaves. The leafy green is high in vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Because of its high nutritional value, there has been research into using the dried leaf in bread and sausage making. I like to put this in our miso soup.
Ora Pro Nobis Leaves.
The fruit is round, orange in colour and has the taste and consistency of a gooseberry. It looks like an orange gooseberry actually!
More Barbados Gooseberry.Barbados Gooseberry.
You can eat them as they are or use them in jams and preserves. They have a fruity tartness. Oh, but last but not least, the flowers are really pretty on this cactus:
Barbados Gooseberry Flower.Pereskia aculeata. Flowers and Fruit.
Anyone interested in buying a plant? Let me know and I will bag some in the new year. Cheers!!
Hello!! This is Munchkin and yes, I logged in right this time. I am still pulling this face…so, I still feel like I’m holding the fort up on this blog. Munchkin Power!!
Just to let you know, in case you haven’t guessed already, the only plants that we like to have on our farm are edible or useful plants. Sorry, not just into pretty ornamentals that you can’t eat. But here’s a plant that serves many purposes and is also nice to look at. This is Canna indica (aka achira):
Canna indica
There are a whole host of other names including Indian arrowroot, African arrowroot and edible canna. We first read about this plant when we were looking into the possibility of using plants as a sewage filtration system …this has been characterised by the use of reeds…reed bed system. When we considered reeds, Gnome had said:’‘Mmmmm…you can’t really eat reeds….is there something else that can be more useful?”
After some more research, we discovered that this beautiful ornamental has been used for the treatment of industrial waste waters and has proven to remove high organic loads from waste water. Wow!! What a useful plant…one that we can incorporate into an organic waste disposal system!
And another wonderful thing is that you can eat the root of this plant raw, baked or cooked. I haven’t tried it yet but I assure you that it is one of the “must-eat”foods on the Munchkin list. Does anyone want to buy a plant? If you do, let me know and I will have some bagged in the new year! Cheers!!
Hello!! If you follow the adventures of Munchkin and Gnome, you will know that we are keen foragers and planters. We also like to cook food in unusual and interesting ways…Munchkin Magic or Cookery Sans Fontiers. Firstly, let’s tell you how we found our sorghum seeds. We were driving on the Highway out of Belize City and Gnome all of a sudden screeched to a halt. Luckily, there were no cars about. He quickly ran out of the car and jumped up and down with glee when he found this growing by the side of the road:
Sorghum on the Road.
We took the seeds and planted them:
Sorghum on our Farm.
Sorghum is generally considered an animal feed in Belize and in most other countries. It is however seen as a human staple in some parts of Africa and India. It has a protein content of 11% (corn has 9%) with B Vitamins, Niacin, B6 and manganese.
Sorghum.
Anyway, Gnome charged me with the cooking of these grains. He basically said:
“Do something tasty with this, my dear…”
So I did. And WE LOVE SORGHUM!! It’s tasty, yummy, versatile, has a nutty flavour and can be eaten in lots of different ways. It tastes a bit like risotto but with more bite to it. Here is a picture gallery of some of our sorghum meals; recipes will come later. Ooooh….we are so pleased with this great foraging find which has allowed us to experience such a delicious food. Ahhhh….we feel blessed with our farm.
Sorghum with Lentils and Potatoes.Sorghum with French Onion Soup.Chicken with Sorghum Breadcrumbs.Sorghum and Veggies.
Yes, we are eating sorghum everyday and not getting bored with it!
Oooooh!! Arrrghhhh! I don’t do very well when I’m sick. I just get awfully whiny so today, Gnome had to deal with me as a patient. I really hate to be a patient!!
Gnome: “Why are you whining more than normal, Munchkin?”
Munchkin: “Waaaaahhhh!!! Waaahh!!”
Gnome: “Can you communicate in a more coherent way so that I could assist you in some way?”
Munchkin: “Waaahhhh!! I have mouth ulcers and they really hurt…it really hurts even to drink a cup of tea!”
Gnome “Oh dear….”
So, I’m not that sick but sick enough to feel that my energy levels are lower than normal. Doctor Gnome has prescribed serosi (bitter gourd) leaf tea as my treatment, three times a day for the next week. No Munchkin fried yummies and no meat. In Chinese medicine, mouth ulcers are considered an indication of “heatiness”…this is a condition not recognised in western medicine. The remedy is the intake of “cooling” foods and teas. Serosi is considered a cooling plant.
Fresh Serosi.
I’m also eating some of these…ear mushrooms foraged from our farm:
Ear Mushroom.
Oh, and if I can find enough slugs, I’ll have them too. That’s not a joke, by the way, we are talking about raising slugs/snails for meat but no profit!
Have been trying to take advantage of the super full moon…I guess it is not all just about madness, lunacy and wobblies.
The two different types of potato that have been planted are doing well and growing. The potato shelter seems to be working as the rot issues seem to have stopped. Hopefully, we will get some seed potatoes from these two plants and be able to then start the “Potato Project” properly.
The other things that have been planted, thanks to the availability of rain free, sunny space include:
thyme
oregano
chamomile
rocket
red, curly mustard
black tomatoes
purple tomatoes
black beauty eggplants
I have also scarified and am soaking:
lotus
winged bean
gingko
boabab
rosemary
sage
Yes, even though I have managed to get out of a couple of days worth of posts (yay!), I have been keeping up with “the Blanket” and I am practising enum classes (since my compiler can handle C++11) and getting ready to tackle the Chapter 4 quiz.
The Panda is off gallivanting with camera equipment to build upon his new found popularity but he did help by moving heavy rocks (almost got busted by the ministry of works…ha-ha-ha!) a couple of days ago.
The second season of Alone isn’t that good, the first one was more enjoyable.
It’s official: The Blogging Wars have started and Man-Shack Panda is in the lead! If this keeps up, we’ll be making Panda Appreciation Products (PAP) as an off-shoot of Casa Mascia.
Gnome: “Dearest, there are no blogging wars…it’s all in your head!”
Munchkin: “I know…but the mere whiff of competition gets the stats up!”
Anyway, let’s not get waylaid by interpersonal blogging. This blog is about living in the bush and the wonderful things that come with the change in lifestyle. Here are some unusual greens from the farm.
Jute leaves are very nice to eat steamed or stir-fried.
Jute Leaves.
Oooohhh…horse radish leaves…tastes like mustard:
Horseradish
We bought some chia seed from the supermarket and managed to grow them. They have mint-like fragrance and makes a nice tasting tea:
Chia Seed Plant.
C’mon then, give Munchkin some Likes!! She is sticking to the true essence of the Blog!!
I was thinking that the best way to describe our blog is that it is a “Slice of Life.” They are snippets of conversations, ideas, farm life and our way of life. With humour thrown in for extra good measure.
This snippet is a perfect example of the Tao of Munchkin, Gnome and Panda.
The other day, Panda came at 8am in the morning to assist Gnome in the construction of a bamboo shelter for growing potatoes. There was no pre-amble and “let’s have a cup of tea first, mate.” Gnome and Panda went off to the bamboo to cut and haul. Everything was measured to the correct size. Holes were dug in the ground and work was done without the need for idle chit-chat.
The structure was made in 6 hours (separated into two mornings of 3 hours). Panda, still new to the “The Way of Munchkin and Gnome” kinda looked at us funny and asked politely what farm work had to be done for the afternoons.
Munchkin reply:
“Our farming way of life encompasses a way of life. It is not about working like a dog for 8 hours a day…”
Gnome added,
“It’s all about doing what you want to do…with focus, discipline and motivation.”
So Gnome suggested that Panda take the extra cut bamboo home and, “have fun with it…make something cool…maybe some blinds or something.”
Panda, who happens to like working with bamboo (well, he is a Panda after all) was very pleased that this way of life also offered creativity and leisure:
“This is great. I like that! I’m off then!”
He said this as he slung the bamboo poles over his shoulder.
Even though the Munchkin hasn’t said anything, this look,
at breakfast, makes these words reverberate in my brain:
“Since everybody is writing posts, you should write too!”
So, today, I put the clear tin on the potato garden; ground sorghum for flour and breadcrumbs; watered everything with horrible, stinky water; sorted out Munchkin’s photographs for blogging; put another egg in the incubator; crocheted another row of “the blanket” and now I am settling myself down to sit in front of the computer and do some coding….moving on to end of Chapter 3 quiz…
See?!?!? I wrote something…remaining bloggers together…I hope I get one of these:
The Piggies have been grumbling a lot lately…about the weather, you know the usual stuff that we all get miserable about. On top of all that, their Yoga teacher left a couple of months ago to the greener pastures of San Antonio. There has been a lot of squealing, squeaking and squawking and general complaining on Coco-Prune Resorts. Of course Mayor Gnome was awfully concerned for the emotional welfare of the community of Paradise Piggies and held a meeting to find a solution.
Mayor Gnome: “How can I make life better for the gated community of Paradise Pastures/ Coco-Prune Resorts and Condos?”
Piggies: “There is nothing to do at the resort…it’s so boring!! What are we supposed to do in the condos…watch telly all day?”
We Are Bored!!
Piggies: “We need a reason to live…we need to find meaning in life!”
Gnome: “Okay, Piggies, it looks like you have done all your frolicking and fun and now you want some spiritual food. I know what you need!”
Piggies: “Oh Mayor Gnome, what are you going to do?”
Gnome: “We’re moving you to the Zen Garden. The Zazen Duckies can help you lot get back on your feet! No more resorts!!”
Zen Garden For Duckies and Piggies.
Tune in tomorrow (if you are really bored and have nothing else to do) for THE BIG MOVE!! How exciting, can’t wait….
